A World without You
by JPMod
Summary: Through a guardian angel, Naruto saw the world, as it was if he was not born. Dark themes.
1. Chapter 1: Wishing to Die

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :)

A/N: Sometimes my muse strikes me with ideas for stories at crazy times. I was reading Naruto fics one day when my mind came up with this question… What would the Naruto world be like if Uzumaki Naruto did not exist? In other words, if he was not born at all, would history be quite different? Of course, the answer is a definite "Yes". With this thought in mind, my brain thought about the movie _It's a Wonderful Life_, and I said to myself, "Hmm… I have yet to read a Naruto fic around this concept." Let's just say my muse has been working in overdrive to bring this idea into written form to share with everyone out there. It's a completely different take to create an AU world with a plot device well known in the entertainment world.

So thus this fic has been born. This chapter will begin the journey, and each chapter afterward will deal with certain places or people and what it would be like in this different world. I want to say that in such a world, many different possibilities can exist, thus this fic is what I view what could happen. Therefore, I know fellow Naruto fans might have different viewpoints and ideas on what could happen in a world where Naruto has not been born. You're welcome to share them in your reviews, but please I'm not going to change anything regardless how many people may disagree with me.

With this said, I also want to say that I'm not that well verse in canon. I'm going to be taking some things from the anime fillers, but mostly I will focus on the story arcs that are both in the anime and the manga. So I appreciate no whining or complaining that I'm not following canon to the letter or the characters will not react this way or that, etc. etc. It's just a fanfic for crying out loud!

WARNINGS!:  
1) I rated this fic T (PG-13) for certain dark themes. I'm playing it safe given some themes are not meant for the kiddies, yet if I and others think this will rate a higher rating in the future, it might change.  
2) This fic contains spoilers up to Chapter 383 of the manga. If you do not want to be spoiled, please do not read this fic. And yes, please understand that this story takes place after Chapter 383, so if you did read the manga up to Chapter 383, you'll be able to better understand this fic.

BTW, if the idea for this fic already has been written, I apologize, given I have not read a Naruto fic with this plot. So please, do not excuse me of plagiarism, because I truly have written up everything in my own words.

To my fellow Kim Possible fans, rest assures I'm not abandoning writing up my KP fics. I'm still writing them up, just this idea for a Naruto fic came up and I like to get it out of the way before I return to writing KP.

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Story rating: Rated T (PG-13)  
Written: January 2008

Summary: Through a guardian angel, Naruto saw the world, as it was if he was not born.

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A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 1: Wishing to Die

Numb. If anyone in the Hidden Village in the Leaves could describe the Number One Most Unpredictable Ninja, 'numb' would not be a word they would use. Yet as the blond teen strolled through the streets of Konoha, numb was exactly how he was feeling at the moment.

For Uzumaki Naruto, the past several days were nothing more than a world-altering event in his life. Not since he was told that the Kyuubi was sealed inside him did anything could have made a profound influence in his life.

After returning from another failed mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, he and his teammates had been met by a sad Tsunade and Shizune in the Hokage office. A sense of dread had come over the group upon seeing the somber expressions, and upon seeing Pa Toad hopping onto the desk from behind Tsunade, Naruto knew something has gone wrong. It was only after Pa Toad did a few quick hand signs to summoned a familiar large scroll did the blue-eyed boy realized what had happened.

With sad eyes focused on Naruto, Pa Toad had gestured to the scroll. "Naruto-chan… I'm sorry. You're now the only person left who can summon us Toads. The Toad Summoning Contract is now yours to take care and pass on to others you deem worthy to summon us. I know Jiraiya-chan have deep confidence in you to carry on the legacy."

Eyes wide in shock, Naruto couldn't able to stand, thus he fell to his knees, his mind unable to believe what Pa Toad was actually telling him. Ero-sennin… Dead. Focusing from the Toad Contract to the sad hazel eyes of Tsuande's, the blond genin softly spoke only one word. "How?"

With a voice interlaced with some sorrow, Tsunade told both Team 7 and 8 regarding Jiraiya's mission to infiltrate Rain Country's hidden village, which Jiraiya found out was the headquarters of Akatsuki. From Pa Toad's words, it was there that Jiraiya met the Akatsuki's leader, who went by the name of Pein, and a great battle had begun between the two. Unfortunately, Pein had won in the end, killing the Toad Sannin, but not before writing a coded message on Pa Toad's back to the identity of Pein just prior before passing away.

After hearing how Jiraiya died, Naruto couldn't able to listen to anything else his adopted mother figure was saying. Heart shattering, knowing he has lost an important precious person in his life, the young man looked down to the floor as tears began to uncontrollably rolled down his whiskered cheeks from his eyes. "Ero-sennin," he whispered just enough for everyone to hear before he broke down in sobs.

Naruto barely registered Sakura's arms hugging him, hearing her crying with him, and the next thing he knew, he'd felt the gentle hands of Hinata joining in giving him comfort, her eyes pouring out tears. No one in the room was spared the feelings of sorrow hanging in the air...

Shizune allowed her tears to flow upon seeing Naruto, her adopted otousan, in pain, while Tsuande only let a few tears left her eyes, trying to be strong for everyone, knowing she would grieve later.

Pa Toad, Kakashi, and Yamato hung their heads in sorrow, yet out of the three, Kakashi was the only one to shed some tears. He knew the man who had trained his sensei was gone; feeling like a member of his family has passed away.

Kiba closed his eyes, hung his head, clenched a fist, and growled softly. He did not know Jiraiya as well as Naruto did, but to see his friend in pain, the Inuzuka wanted very much to make the Akatsuki pay dearly. Sitting next to his master, Akamaru whined softly, joining in the grieving.

Sai, however, did not feel any pain or sadness regarding the situation. He still was confused to how he should feel when it comes to emotions in general. Yet the impassive young man did feel some compassion for his teammate's lost even though he could not feel anything regarding the lost of one of the Legendary Sannin.

Shino seemed to be the least affected next to Sai, yet the aloof Aburame did feel unhappiness as he hung his head slightly. His heart was sympathetic to his blond comrade and friend in his loss, but he knew the village has lost one of their greatest shinobi. He has no doubts that all of Konoha would be in mourning.

Surely as Shino predicted, two days later, a day of mourning was observed with all businesses and public offices closed as the village paid their respects to Jiraiya. With no body to bury until they could recover it from enemy territory, the funeral was held on top of the Hokage office in the same service that was held for The Third after the Sand-Sound Invasion.

It was a solemn affair under gloomy overcast skies with every person wearing their black shinobi funeral attires. Naruto had very much wanted to stand by his adopted mother figure's side, yet it was not his place to be. Yet he was not alone as he stood in front, surrounded by his friends and classmates with Sakura on one side and Kakashi on the other. They all knew their lovable knucklehead was heartbroken, and those who knew this more than any were Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji who knew first hand how the blond really felt given it was not long ago they'd lost their own sensei - Sarutobi Asuma.

Yet after the funeral, Tsunade had asked Naruto, along with Kakashi and Sakura to accompany him, to her office, where she had dropped another bombshell on the already shellshock Jinchuuriki. Feeling the time was right for the young man to know, the Godiame Hokage told Naruto about his heritage, and it came as shock for him to find out that he was the son of The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina. It explained much to why he looked so much like The Fourth as well as why he was chosen to carry the Kyuubi, for the legendary Yellow Flash would not had asked anyone else to sacrifice their children if he one to do the job.

At first, Naruto felt anger that no one had told him about his parents, for even Kakashi knew, given he was The Fourth's student. Yet after telling the bitter teenager that Minato had many enemies, both inside and outside Konoha who would had sought revenge by killing any children of The Fourth's, Naruto slowly understood the reasoning – to keep him safe until he was old enough to defend himself. It was indeed a bitter pill to swallow, but in the end, the young Hokage-wannabe had accepted the motive with grace.

Afterward, Tsunade had given Team 7 several days off, given she knew Naruto would need the time to accept what had happened and moved on. Thus the following morning Naruto had joined his teammates for morning training, but no matter how much he'd tried, he just couldn't put himself into it like he had before. So after lunch at Ichiraku's, the blonde genin told his team that he was going home and left, leaving behind four sets of concerned eyes watching him go. Teuchi and Ayame, father and daughter owners of Ichiraku's, knew their favorite customer was not himself, given he had only ate one bowl of ramen.

So thus, it was how Naruto was now wandering down the streets, feeling numb from the knowledge that he would not ever see and hear from his sannin sensei ever again. No more would he catch the old man peeping into women's bath houses. No more would he hear the white-haired perv boasted how great he was as the Toad Sannin. No more would he enjoy teasing the Icha Icha author by calling him 'Ero-sennin'. It was just not the same anymore without him.

As Naruto strolled along, he couldn't help but overhear the conversations being murmured by the villagers, especially by those who were eying him with hate. He may not have acute sense of hearing like an Inusuka or any of their dogs, but thanks to the Kyuubi, his hearing was better than a normal human's.

"There goes the demon brat," spoke one elderly woman to another. "I can't believe he's still alive after so long."

"It's hard to believe Jiraiya-sama would teach the Kyuubi monster powerful techniques," a middle-aged man said to woman, who might be his wife.

"Why can't you just die, demon," whispered a passing man around Kakashi's age.

Even though such words should no longer affect him, the words still hurt after all these years. It sickened him that there were still bigots who wanted him dead given they couldn't see that he and the Kyuubi were separate identities and not one-and-the-same.

Not wanting to be in such crowds anymore, Uzumaki took to the roofs to make a faster commute to his apartment, and upon arriving on the apartment building's rooftop, it was only a small jump down to the top floor's walkway and the door of his apartment. He proceeded to take out his keys to enter his home, and after opening the door and then shutting it behind him, the 15-year-old genin moved toward his bed where he collapsed, back first, onto it.

As he lay there, staring up at the ceiling, Naruto couldn't help but think of all the bad times he had in his life, especially some of the beatings he endured when he was a child, and despite he has become an official Konoha shinobi, the blue-eyed boy wondered whether it was really worth it. He'd failed to get back Sasuke… Twice! He was still a genin, while his classmates advanced ahead of him to the chuunin level. Furthermore, despite his single victory over the Akatsuki member Kakuzu, he knew that organization would not rest until they capture him and extract the Kyuubi from him. They would kill anyone who stood in their way to get the Nine-tails, and already one person… No, two people… paid with their lives – Asuma-sensei and Jiraiya.

'_Ero-sennin.' _A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks, before he closed his eyes, seeing the images of his sannin master before his eyes in his mind. '_Why did you have to die? Why?! I understand all about the need to die in protecting those who are precious, but from what Pa Toad-jiji said, you didn't have to die at all! You could have fled and live!' _His right hand fisted and pounded the mattress.

A few moments later, his face twisted into a snarl. '_This is your entire fault… You baka fox!' _Angry sapphire eyes shot open to glare down at his clothed stomach, where the seal laid. _'You caused all this pain and misery! If it weren't for you, Akatsuki wouldn't have targeted me and Ero-sennin would have lived!'_

With quick reflexes, Naruto drew a kunai from his right-leg holder and held it over his heart. Closing his eyes once more, the teenager became relax as he held the kunai with both hands now. '_Maybe it's best this way. If I die, I'll take you with me. Akatsuki will be denied you, their plans will be thwarted, and every one of my precious people will be safe. I wish I can say good-bye properly to all of them, but knowing them, they will try to stop me. It's best this way.' _

Raising the sharp weapon a bit to prepare for the plunge, Naruto spoke one last thought. _'Good-bye. I love you all.'_ With that mentally said, his hands began the kunai's downward descent.

"Ah, ah, ah," a gentle scolding voice spoke out, startling the member of Team 7 from his attempted suicide. Shooting up into a sitting position, shocked eyes whirled around to notice an elderly man with gray hair. He seemed to be a civilian with simple clothes, and his face, wrinkled from old age, held a small grin conveying warmth and wisdom. "You shouldn't think of ending your life like that, young man."

"Who are you?!" demanded Naruto as his right hand twirled the kunai to point at the intruder.

Rather than feeling threatened, the old man simply smiled and placed a hand on his chest. "You can call me Chikao," he said before his hand left his chest to point toward his listener. "As I was saying, you shouldn't end your life like that. After all, you have much to live for and to accomplish." His pointing hand came down to fold into the other. "I know the Boss will not be please if you took your life, Naruto."

Standing up from the bed, a confused Naruto raised an eyebrow. "The Boss?"

Chikao nodded with a smirk. "Hai. The Boss," he answered with a finger pointing upward, before his lips converted back to the typical warm grin. "To simply put, Naruto, I've been sent as your guardian angel to prevent you from making a terrible mistake."

Naruto blinked in stupefaction just prior to chortling. "He, he, he. Oh, this is a good one. I nearly fell for it. Okay, Sakura-chan, cancel the genjutsu!" he called out. When nothing happened, he tried again, growing a little more concerned. "Come on, Sakura-chan! This is not funny!" When again nothing happened, he placed his hands together into a familiar hand sign for jutsu cancellation. "Kai!" Seeing Chikao was still there, he again tried again and again.

Frowning, Chikao shook his head. "I assure you, young man, that I'm **not** a genjutsu." Seeing the blond boy stopped, the elderly angel continued. "When I was young, I was a shinobi for Iwa, until the war back then caused physical injuries that ended my shinobi career. I'm quite familiar with what genjutsu are, and this is not a genjutsu."

Blinking, Naruto pointed at his guest with his freed hand. "You're from Iwa? Are you not like…" He waved his hand about. "You know… angry at Konoha?"

Chikao chuckled. "No, I'm not angry or carry a grudge. The Boss takes in everyone as long as they didn't commit any actual unforgivable sins. I was a soldier and guardian of my village, thus I'd followed orders, anymore than you do with Konoha." Seeing the understanding expression on Naruto's face, the elderly angel frowned once more at the young man before him. "Now why would you want to commit suicide?"

"Why not?" answered Naruto stubbornly. Realizing he still has the kunai in his hand, the Konha genin placed it back into his kunai holder before commencing with his explanation. "People are dying because of me… because of the Kyuubi inside me," he added with a snarl at the thought of the nine-tailed demon. "If I die, Kyuubi dies. Everyone will be safer in the process." Sighing, the fire in his blue eyes died off as those twin orbs stared down at the floor. "Knowing this, I think it would have been better off that I have not been born at all."

"Come again, child?" asked Chikao, blinking in confusion.

Gazing up to lock his eyes to the older man's, Naruto retold what he said. "It would have been better if I was not born. The world would have been better off without me." Sapphire eyes returned to look at the floor.

Frowning at the solemn choice of words and the dejected look on the young man's face, Chikao wondered if this boy could be save at all. Then suddenly the angel looked up and cocked his head to the side. "Really? You think so?" Looking back at Naruto, who was now looking at him when he had spoken, Chikao rubbed his chin in thought. "I think it might work." The elderly shinobi clapped his hands with a small grin. "The Boss has heard you, Naruto, and decided to grant you your wish."

Baffled, Naruto could only shake his head. "What are you talking about?"

A sudden boom of thunder with a flash of light startled Naruto out of his wits, and the next thing he knew, his apartment looked totally different than before. His bed was gone to be replaced with a double bed under the window. The kitchen has a bigger table with chairs around it. A sofa was situated in front of a TV set, next to a bookshelf full of books and stuff. Several potted plants were around the place.

On top of the changed apartment, the sky was dark with clouds, which he was able to see from not only the window but from a large hole in the ceiling that looked like it was caused by an explosion. From the hole, he finally noticed the debris of the roof was around the apartment, and that there was dust acuminated on every surface feature in the place, like it has not been cleaned up in a long time.

It was clear to Naruto that something was not right. "Kami! What is going on here?!"

"Kami, who is the Boss, has decided to grant you your wish, Naruto," Chikao spoke with calm which Naruto did not feel.

"Wish?" Naruto asked rhetorically, not really paying attention as his head whipped around frantically as he gazed at the place. It was then that he decided to leap through the hole in the roof, and when the young Konoha shinobi stood on the roof to gaze at his home village, what he saw brought an overwhelming shock to his being.

As far as he could see, buildings stood in shambles. Some were burned to the ground. Others have pockets of holes with broken windows. A few looked like they were blown apart. The Hokage Tower was totally destroyed. In the distance, he could make out two large sections of the village wall were gone, completely obliterated from the outside-in. From one very large missing wall, he made out vast areas of the village looked like they were blown away from something akin to a typhoon.

Yet what really stunned him was the fact there were no people at all anywhere. The streets were deserted instead of being bustled with activity. There was not a sign of a single human being, other than himself and Chikao, who managed to leap up onto the roof. The whole village looked like a ghost town.

Alarm at what he was seeing, Naruto spread out his fisted hands and shouted loudly to the heavens. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"It's really simple, Naruto," Chikao spoke, making the frustrated teen whirled his head to look at him. After a moment, the angel spread his open palms out to indicate not only the village but everything. "Welcome to the world… A world where you, Uzumaki Naruto, was not born… At all."

Overhead, a bolt of lightning flashed with a large thunderclap.

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To Be Continue (End of Chapter 1)

After-chapter A/Ns:

1) I know this story have grammar and spelling mistakes. It's just that the betareader for my 'Kim Possible' fics has no intention to beta any fics outside of KP, so with no betareader at hand, this chapter (and possible future chapters) will have errors.

So if anyone like to become my betareader to catch and correct these errors before I post the chapters, please email me, for I will not respond by reviews or PMs. I appreciate my betareader is familiar with American English spelling & grammar and is willing to do the job and not just to get a head-start reading of future chapters.

2) Give yourself a pat on the back if you think Chikao's physical description is much like Clarence, the guardian angel from the movie _It's a Wonderful Life_. I thought it would be ideal to have Clarence as a reference model for Chikao given they're providing the same service for the people they're trying to save. :)

For anyone's information, 'Chikao' means 'clever, wise' in Japanese. I just happened to come across the name in my search for a Japanese name for this Clarence-like character, and I'd thought it seems appropriate. :)

3) I can hear that some fans might think I made Naruto OOC here, for he would not have let himself be drowned in sorrow like this and not let the villagers' 'demon' taunts get to him. Yet given how precious those he considered very close to him, I can see he would be hurt deeply to know Jiraiya has passed away, thus with his emotions unstable, it wouldn't take much to make his mind think unreasonable thoughts that things might be better off if he was dead, not thinking such actions would end up hurting his other precious people, like Iruka, Tsuande, and Sakura who are all very close to him. When people are heartbroken from the loss of those they love, they can tend to not think straight sometimes.


	2. Chapter 2: Fallen Leaf

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :)

Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 1: Perentie Fan

And thanks go to all who read Chapter 1. :)

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A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 2: Fallen Leaf

Naruto just couldn't believe it. "This is not possible!" he cried out in frustration and disbelief. "Konoha is one of the most powerful shinobi villages!" His right index finger rose to point to the Hokage monument. "And where's Tsunade-baachan's face? It's not there!" Training his eyes on Chikao, the young man lowered his hand. "Are we in another universe in the past?"

Chikao snorted and shook his head. "Did you listen to what I said? This is a world where you were not born. This **is** your world, Naruto. Right now, in the present time, which is between 15 to 16 years after the day you suppose to be born."

"But Baa-chan's face is not on the mountain!" he nearly shouted, indicating to the four heads on the cliff that represented the village's four Hokages.

Giving a somewhat sad grin, Chikao gestured toward the monument. "Tsunade never became the Fifth Hokage, Naruto, because Konoha was destroyed during the Third's second time in power after the Fourth's death."

"How?" asked the blonde dubiously.

The elderly man folded his hands together over his stomach. "It had happened more than 3 years ago, young man. You were there. Surely you couldn't have forgotten such an important event."

Thinking back, Naruto did not have to think much to come up with the answer. "The invasion by the Sound and Sand during the Chuunin Exams," he softly spoke.

"Precisely," the angel verified the answer. "Despite the heroic efforts to push back the invaders, Konoha's forces were no match against the three-headed snake and the enormous power of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Bijuu."

Naruto's crystal blues showed doubt. "That's not possible, Chikao," he mentioned before thumbing himself. "I defeated Gaara with help from Gamabunta."

Sighing, Chikao shook his head. "Once more, not here, Naruto. You were not born, thus you were not there to summon the Boss Toad to help you battle against Shukaku. The genin team sent to retrieve Sasuke from battling Gaara couldn't able to stop Gaara from awakening the Bijuu." Raising his hand, he pointed toward the largest destroyed part of the village's defense wall. "That area there was where Shukako blew his way in and started to lay devastation to the village."

'_Yeah, I could see that.' _Naruto said mentally as he scanned the large swath of destruction Shukaku left. _'He must have used those wind bullet jutsu that he had used against Gamabunta and me'_

After a flash of lighting and thunder came overhead, the teenage boy began taking small leaps down toward the street, and once there, he began walking around. Knowing Chikao was following just behind him, Naruto eyed the houses and stores with sadness. Everything was gone.

After a few minutes walking around, the son of the Fourth realized something. "Hold on, Chikao," he began as he stopped walking just a moment for the angel to catch up before presuming their journey. "I know that Ero-sennin was here during the invasion, so even if I was not born, Ero-sennin would have stopped Shukaku. He can summon Gamabunta as much as I can."

"That might have happened, if he was here, Naruto," replied the gray-haired man. Seeing the confusion on the youngster's face, he elaborated. "Jiraiya has a vast spy network which required him to always be on the move in order to obtain intelligence on anything that might be a threat to Konoha. Since you're his godson, he had occasionally stopped by Konoha to check on your progress. It was great timing that he had happened to be in Konoha to check on you during the Chuunin Exams. You had defeated Shukaku, while he had defeated the three-headed summoned snake.

"However, because you were not born, Jiraiya have no reasons to stop by Konoha. In this timeline, he notified the Third by messenger toad of any important information, thus he was not here when the invasion came. You and he made the difference between victory and defeat."

Realizing that Chikao was right, Naruto faced forward as the pair strolled through the streets of the ruined village. He had been told that the Toad Sannin had summoned a large toad to defeat the three-headed snake that had torn through the village, while he was battling Shukaku with Gamabunta. It had indeed been both of their efforts that had allowed the counterattack to succeed against the invaders.

Thoughts on the Sand-Sound Invasion were disrupted, when they reached the edge of an area that had been destroyed by Shukaku's air bullet jutsu. Naruto saw that there was no wreckage at all anywhere. The area was cleaned flat of any buildings or vegetation. The sight brought sadness to his soul to see his beloved village in such a state.

Yet something came to the blonde Jinchuuiki's brain upon recognizing the area, making him sadder. "I know of this place." Even though he was starting at the barren land before him, Naruto knew Chikao was looking at him. "This area is where I know Ichiraku's was." His fists clenched as he gazed down at the ground. "I guess Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-neechan were killed, eh?"

Knowing the question was directed at him, Chikao nodded even though Naruto did not see it. "Yes, Naruto, they did die, but not at their home or their ramen stand." After watching Naruto raised his head with a puzzled expression, the guardian angel elaborated. "Come, let me show you," he softly commanded, and with that said, he leaped away to nearby tall building with Naruto just behind him.

Upon landing on the roof with Naruto besides him, Chikao pointed to an area just underneath the Hokage monument. "See that area, Naruto?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "It looks like a giant hole. Something blasted through the mountain."

"That, Naruto," Chikao sighed, "was where one of Konoha's shelters used to be." Watching Naruto's face showing comprehension, Chikao continued. "Teuchi and Ayame were evacuated to the shelter underneath the Hokage monument, along with all the Academy students and many of the women of the village. It was unfortunately that the shelter was in the path of the Hokage Tower, and when Shukaku aimed to destroy the tower, the blast dealt a blow to the shelter as well. To complete the destruction, Oto and Suna forces used fire jutsu to burn the shelter totally. There were no survivors."

Looking at the hole in the mountain, a feeling of dread washed over the young demon container's body. "No… Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-neechan…." Then realizing the Academy students had been there as well, three young faces appeared in his head. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon…"

Chikao nodded sadly. "Yes, they died as well, Naruto. Not one student was spared."

Choking back tears, electric-blue eyes turned from the large hole to the rest of the devastated village. "So… Everyone is dead, eh?" he asked solemnly.

"There were survivors," the old man answered, causing Naruto to whip his head to face him with hope in his eyes. "Some shinobi and civilians had managed to escape. Others were captured and became prisoners, yet mostly died that day. The Leaf Village existed no more from that day onward, and from then, the Sound Village rose to become the dominate shinobi village of the shinobi lands with Rice Country taking over all of Fire Country."

Turning his head, Naruto once more surveyed the village, feeling remorse that a once powerful nation was no more. It was hard for him to imagine that he had been that influential in turning the tide of the Sand-Sound Invasion and without him, the village would have lost. Of course, he really had happened, if the ruins he was seeing before him was any indication. Yet…

Sadly chuckling slightly, which Chikao heard, Naruto shook his head. "So Konoha lost the war. Yet I bet other villages are thriving okay." He trained his blue eyes to gaze at his companion. "If Suna won, I bet they're doing okay. I mean, I know they would likely have more missions and good income now that Konoha is out of the way, right?."

Frowning, Chikao knew the young man said those words in an attempt to cheer himself up on trying to find any bright sides to Konoha's destruction. However, the angel knew the truth. "Naruto, do you have any idea of how much you've changed people's lives? Konoha was not the only one that has suffered greatly due to you not having existed."

Seeing the combination of confusion and shock on Naruto's face, Chikao took a few steps to place a hand on the young genin's shoulder. "Let me show you what I meant, Naruto. It's better for you to see just how important you were for so many."

With that said, the pair disappeared in a whirl of wind, leaving behind the howling wind rustling through a burned-out shell of a former great village as lightning and thunder roared overhead like angry ghosts from the past.

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TBC (End of Chapter 2)

A/Ns:

1) Okay, I can already hear some asking "What about the Kyuubi? If Naruto was not born and Konoha was destroyed by the Sand-Sound Invasion, this meant the Kyuubi was sealed in another baby." Well, good guess right there, but I'm not going to spoil anything on what has happened with the Kyuubi. I have plans to mention the Kyuubi in a lateral chapter, so one has to wait and see. ;-p

2) Well, I figured Jiraiya might not have much motivation to return to the village once in while if he had no one special to return to the village for. From what I know in the manga, Jiraiya knew Naruto is the son of Minato, so given Naruto is the son of his student, Jiraiya has a special connection with Naruto. Besides, as I have mentioned in this chapter, Jiraiya does not have to return to the village in order to report any important information from his spy network to the Third. So without Jiraiya there to summon the toads, Konoha would have likely have fallen from the combined might of the Shukaku and that three-headed summoned snake.

3) Once more if anyone likes to become my betareader for this story, please let me know by email, which can be found in my profile. :)


	3. Chapter 3: Lost Innocence

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :)

Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 2: TimTam's rule, and Perentie Fan

And thanks go to all who read Chapter 2. :)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 3: Lost Innocence on the Broken Waves

With a whirl of leaves and wind, Chikao and Naruto appeared in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. Looking around, the blond saw it was a beautiful clear day with blue skies above him. Confusion etched on the young man's face. He was expecting a place indicating death and destruction, but instead they arrived in a peaceful tranquil meadow.

"Hey, Chikao-jiisan, I thought you were taking me to see what had happened to the other nations and villages," Naruto spoke out his thoughts.

Chikao gave a soft chuckle on the suffix added to his name. He didn't mind it, given he was an old man. "I am, Naruto, I am." He indicated a particular direction. "Through this forest on the other side is our destination." Moving forward, he gestured for his young charge to follow him. "Come now. Let us go."

Naruto frowned, but he followed the angel nevertheless. A while later, they were strolling through the forest, and for the blond, it seemed somehow familiar.

"Does this forest seem familiar to you, Naruto?" Chikao asked, seeing the wandering blue eyes taking in the trees.

"Not really," the teen replied with a small shrug. "It does seem somewhat familiar, but given I've seen so many forests, they all look alike to me."

"Well, we're really not far from our destination," the angel reassured him. Looking ahead, he spotted the end of the forest, so he pointed forward. "Matter of fact, we're here."

Coming out of the woods, the pair happened upon the edge of a shore with a house supported above the water by pillars. The scent of sea water and the chirping of gulls along with the location jarred Naruto's memories to the forefront of his mind.

"I know this place! We're in the Land of Waves!" Naruto nearly shouted out, taking in the recognizable place.

Chikao nodded an affirmative. "That's right, Naruto." His right index finger rose to momentarily point toward the house. "Are you aware whose house this is?"

A small smile came to Naruto's face. "Sure do. That's where Inari, his mother Tsunami, and his grandfather Tasuna-jiisan live." Yet something caught his eyes, making him frown and squint. "Hold on. Something is not right."

Taking in the large dwelling, the Konoha genin began noticing that the structure was not in good shape at all. The wood was beginning to rot, the windows and doors were smashed in, and there were some holes in the walls. Overall, it looked like the place has not been lived in for years.

"I see you're seeing the signs, Naruto," Chikao said, alerting the boy back to his presence. "No one has lived in this house for nearly three years."

"What?!" shouted the Konoha ninja as he whipped his head around to face his companion. "I know very well they lived here! What happened to them?!"

"What had happened to them tied in to the fate of this small nation, Naruto," the angel sadly answered before nodding toward the area of the waters away from the house. "Look across the waters, Naruto, and tell me what you see."

Gazing outward in the direction Chikao indicated, sharp sapphire eyes scoped the area. He could see the distance shoreline of the main land and the identifiable landmark of the bridge Tazuna built. _"Hold on,"_ Naruto mentally said as he took in the sight of the bridge, and upon closer inspection he immediately knew what he was seeing was not right.

"Gah!" a wide-eyed Naruto screamed out, pointing toward the bridge. "The bridge! It's not completed!"

"Not on this world, Naruto," Chikao explained. "It was not ever completed."

Naruto once again whipped his head around to face the angel. "Why?!" he asked that simple one-worded question that had been asked through-out the ages.

Gesturing to the dirt road that snaked the shore toward the bridge, Chikao sadly grinned. "Come. I'll explain along the way toward the bridge." With that said, he began walking on the path, and sooner after, Naruto followed in step with him.

Not long after they started the trek, did Chikao begin speaking. "Much like with Konoha, you'd played a vital role in the Land of Waves, Naruto. As you know, you and your team had helped defeated Zabuza and Gato, enabling Tazuna to complete the bridge and bring new hope to the nation."

"True," Naruto admitted, but his expression told that he was not convince, "but surely Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and Sakura would have won the battle without me."

"Could they?" Chikao asked with a raised eyebrow. Seeing the frown on the teenager's face deepening, he continued. "Naruto, with you not being there, who do you suppose was the third genin of Team 7? Being the dead last of your class, you were chosen for Team 7, because it was a tradition to place the top of the class with the dead last. Yet with you not have been born, the dead last position went to Shikamaru."

Chikao raised a hand to prevent Naruto's question, foreseeing this. "No, Naruto, Shikamaru was not the one placed on Team 7. The Third and Iruka agreed to keep the Ino-Shika-Cho trio intact, thus the slot on Team 7 was given to Kiba."

"Kiba?" Naruto blinked in stupor. "Kiba became a member of Team 7? Then what about Team 8?"

"Oh, they had managed to find someone to fill that slot on Team 8," Chikao answered with a nod.

The guardian angel continued the sad tale. "Now the point is that you did play a vital role, Naruto. If you remember, it was you who had defeated Haku. In this world, Sasuke too was not able to defeat Haku, yet Kiba and his dog companion also couldn't defeat the older boy. Haku was just too fast and quick for even Kiba and Akamaru.

"In the end, Haku was free to provide aid to his master in battling Kakashi. Haku gave Zabuza the brief time he needed to kill Tazuna, thus ending the hope for the people of the Land of Waves. Team 7 went home defeated, and Gato had continued to rule the land until the Mist intervened."

"Say what?" Naruto was flabbergasted. "The Hidden Village in the Mist? I thought they were in a civil war."

Chikao nodded once in affirmative. "Oh, they were, Naruto, they were. That was until Zabuza returned and finally overthrew the Sandaime Mizukage in a second coup and became the Mist's Yondaime Mizukage. A year after he became Mizukage and stabilized the Mist, he came back to the Land of Waves to seek revenge against Gato."

Now Naruto was really baffled. "Seek revenge?"

"Oh, yes," Chikao confirmed with a serious face. "You see, a few months after the battle on the bridge and Team 7's defeat, Gato has no further use of Zabuza and Haku, thus the greedy tyrant had tried to assassinate the missing-nin and his young apprentice. It failed. Zabuza vowed revenge, thus the reason the Land of Waves is now currently under control of the Mist."

"Okay," the blond shinobi shrugged. "If Zabuza came back, things should have been better once Gato was overthrown, right?"

The serious face on the angel became bitter and gloomy as he shook his head. "No, Naruto. Things did not have gotten better at all." He gestured with hand toward the bridge. "We're closer to the bridge now. Do you find anything strange about it?"

Looking at the bridge, Naruto at first didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but the closer he looked, the more he saw things that do not belong on a normal bridge. Things, upon recognizing them, that made his blood boil in shock and fury. Unable to believe what he was seeing, the young man dashed the remaining distance to the bridge, leaving Chikao behind.

A few minutes later, upon arriving at the bridge's threshold, Naruto stared at the horror before him, his eyes narrowing as he clenched a fist. Corpses of men were stringed along the sides, most of them hung on nooses on makeshift polls. Others hung over the sides by iron shackles. It was clear all them died and left there to rot. The scene, combined with the bridge's state of disrepair, gave a very bleak outlook regarding the Land of Waves as a whole.

Just to one side of the bridge's entrance laid a wooden sign. It was nothing more than a piece of plywood leaning up against the beginning of the railing. Words were scrawled in red paint on the surface, and those words brought a chill down Naruto's spine.

It did not surprise the genin to sense Chikao had suddenly appeared besides him, no doubt due to his angelic powers. Turning from the sign, outraged blue eyes locked onto sad ones as the blond raised an index finger to point out the repulsive spectacle. "Did Zabuza done this?!" he nearly screamed in anger.

Chikao nodded once. "By both Gato and Zabuza," he verified. "After the battle, Gato had started killing those, who tried to resist him, here as an example to everyone not to oppose him. Many months later, when Zabuza returned, along with Mist ninjas, and overthrew Gato, the people had thought at first they were liberated." The angel shook his head. "Zabuza was really no different than his Mizukage predecessor. He refused to finish the bridge, stating he did not want any connection to the mainland to allow any of the Sound forces access to Kiri's territory. If any one tried to oppose him and the Kiri government, he simply continued the practice that Gato had started." A sign escaped the angel's lips as he looked at the plywood sign. "The name of this bridge, placed there by an unknown Wave citizen, is quite appropriate – The Death Bridge."

Naruto's gaze shifted from the old man to once again fall on the horror before him. His ears heard Chikao continued to talk as both took in the grisly scene. "You had brought hope to a dying nation, Naruto. It was not just your vital role in the bridge battle, for it was also your words to a little boy who in turn galvanized others to help defend the bridge." A tiny grin, conveying some warmth, appeared on Chikao's face as he turned to face Naruto, who in turn face him. "You may not know it, but they had named this bridge after you."

The blond blinked at this news. "They did?" he asked, not quite believing a bridge was named after him.

Chikao chuckled a bit at stupefied teen. "Oh, yes, they did, for it was called The Great Naruto Bridge. Named after the boy who had brought hope." The tiny grin faded from his elderly features as he gestured to the bridge. "As you can see, without you, the bridge came to symbolize the complete opposite – despair."

Once more, blue eyes shifted to took in the bridge and what it came to represent. For Naruto, the scene just felt totally out of place under the clear blue skies, the warm air, and the crystal blue waters. One would normally thought of peace and tranquility when it came to tropical paradises, not of death and misery.

When his mind thought about the old bridge builder, Naruto also thought of the little boy and his mother. He whipped his head to face Chikao again. "Chikao-san, what happened to Inari and his mom? They were spared, right?"

Those eyes and his solemn expression told the young man everything. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but they had died not long after Tazuna. It was great fortune that you had happened to be there at their home when those two hired hands of Gato's came to the house to capture Inari and Tsunami as hostages. Due to your chakra exhaustion, you had slept for two days and were in the ideal position to deal with the thugs.

"In this world, however, Team 7 was all together at the bridge that day, thus Tazuna's daughter and grandson had been captured. Once Gato learned Zabuza killed Tazuna, he had no need for Inari and Tsunami as hostages. He had Inari killed and let his men did what they pleased with Tsunami before they killed her."

Naruto was dense at times, but even he was not so stupid to pick up the words the angel was telling him. "No," he spoke softly, "you're not telling me that they… done **that** to her."

"I'm afraid so," Chikao answered just as softly. "Those men did not care for the welfare of others, only themselves. They had fun raping her until she couldn't take it anymore, when they finally killed her."

Closing his moist eyes, the Konoha jinchuuriki clenched his teeth and hands at the thoughts of the kind and gentle mother he knew being on the receiving end of such a sick deed. It was painful to even think the old bridge builder's entire family has been wiped out with his daughter being the last to die in such a cruel way.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Naruto opened his eyes to Chikao patting him in reassurance. "Come, Naruto. There is one more thing you need to see. It involves an old friend of yours."

With those words, the angel turned to stroll into town followed by a confused ninja. Naruto has no idea what Chikao has meant by 'old friend of yours,' given the only friends he knew from the Land of Waves were Tazuna and his family.

Walking along side his elderly cohort, Naruto couldn't help but to gaze around the place as they walked through the business section of town. Compare to the time he and his teammates came here, it seemed that the economy was doing far better. There were more goods and food available, and overall, it did not appear that the people were suffering.

"Eh, Chikao-san?" the orange-clad adolescent asked before training his eyes on the waiting ones of the angel. "You told me that things were worst now under Zabuza's rule than they were before under Gato. This place does not look like anyone is suffering. I see plenty of food and merchandize around."

Chikao gave half sad grin and frown. "Look at the faces, Naruto. Do you see anyone really happy? Do you sense the somber mood in the atmosphere? These are not people living in harmony regardless that they might have somewhat a better life than it was with Gato."

Turning back to his observations, Naruto looked more closely and found that Chikao was correct. The mood here was definitely not relaxing as any village was at peace. Instead the many faces he came across were mix with frowns, fear, and hopelessness.

"Naruto," Chikao said. "Unlike Gato, Zabuza has no desire to rule a land with a broken down economy. He had opened trade with the Tea and Sea Countries to the south and Lightning Country to the north. He does not trust Orochimaru, thus why, as I said before, he refused to have anything to do with Rice Country, which now controls all territory of the former Fire Country.

"Zabuza rules the Land of Waves and refuse to let the former government return. Technically, the Land of Waves no longer exists, for these lands are now part of Water Country. These people have no means to fight against a shinobi army, thus why they had lost their independence."

A sad sigh escaped the angel's lips before he continued. "Yet despite a better economy, there is no justified law and order here." Hearing this, Naruto rested his eyes on Chikao. "The land is governed by a Jounin Elite who answers to Zabuza, and some diabolical merchants had learned that it's easy to give kickbacks to the Jounin Elite in exchange for favoritism and some protection. It soon came apparent to everyone that if you cross certain people, you'll end up in jail and possibly tortured or worst. Most learned it was best to go about your daily life without saying anything against the government and those they support. To do so would be folly; especially given the Jounin Elite's second-in-command was not someone a person should trifle with."

It was then the pair and everyone around them heard a commotion up ahead. All stop as a 30-something man came running down the street with a frighten look on his face. For Naruto, he couldn't understand what scared the man, until several kunai and shuriken came out of the sky in front of the man, making him halt. The man spun around to gaze up as several male Kiri shinobi landed on the rooftops on either side of the street, and from their green flak jackets, it was easy to tell they were all chuunin in ranks at least.

"Do you really think you can get away from us?" one of the Mist nin said with a smirk. His words made the others chuckled in a sadistic way. People quickly moved away from the pursued man, not wanting to get involved.

"Please," the frightened man begged, "that shop owner was trying to swindle me to pay 5,000 more for the shirt! Surely you can see my actions of punching him was justify!"

The smirk on the lead Mist chuunin became wider. "Tell that to the Boss." The words made the eyes of the civilian man went wide with even more fear.

Just then a Kiri ninja suddenly appeared in front of the civilian, and it was obvious he had used Shunshin. The shinobi was tall and lean with short black hair and dark eyes, and he wore the typical garb of a jounin that Naruto remembered Kakashi-sensei wore. The coldness of his expression was that of a season veteran despite that he looked like a teenager. To Naruto, the Kiri nin seemed familiar, just he couldn't make out the face to a name.

"You shouldn't have run. Now your punishment will be more severe," the cold ninja spoke in a voice that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

Seeing all the civilians around him quite frightened of the Kiri jounin, Naruto was about to ask Chikao who was the jounin, when the excused man spoke out in a quivering voice. "P… P… Please, Haku-sama, spare me!"

The name brought a huge shock to the blue-eyed blond. "Haku?!" he shouted before he raised his voice even higher. "HAKU!" He just couldn't believe it, but now that he knew, the Kirin nin was indeed the boy he had befriended judging from the closer look at the nin's face. The hair was cut, but the features were girl-like, just like Naruto remembered.

Two Kiri chuunin hopped down from the roofs to stand on each side of the terrified man before grabbing him by the forearms. Before he knew it, they were taking him away, dragging him by force pass their jounin leader. "Please! I am innocent! I AM INNOCENT!" the man shouted beseechingly.

"We'll see about that," Haku coldly said as he turned to face the retreating backs of his men and the captor, making the young man's back faced an alarmed Naruto.

"Haku! What's wrong with you?! This is not like you at all!" Naruto yelled as he approached the older boy. Getting no reaction, the Kyuubi container gritted his teeth before making a grab for Haku's right arm, but instead of contacting flesh, the hand ghostly went right through the Kiri shinobi, causing even more shock to Naruto. "EH?!"

As Haku strolled away behind his men, Naruto stood there bewildered to what has just happened. It was then that Chikao came forward to stand besides the astonished boy and began explaining. "No one can hear or see us, Naruto, because we're just spirits, observing but can not interact. Given you were not born, do you expect people to able to hear and see you? You do not exist on this world."

Naruto numbly nodded as he watched the form of Haku grew smaller, yet there was something he couldn't comprehend. "What's wrong with him, Chikao-jiji? That's not the Haku I knew. He wouldn't be so cold like this at all!" he finished, trying to reconcile the kind, gentle teenager he knew with the cold, cruel young man seen moments ago.

"You're correct, Naruto," Chikao replied. "That's not the Haku you met. In this world, Haku had not ever met another kindred soul, so he had not ever knew of others who had suffered like he did. Yet the change in his personality came from an awful event." Naruto gave his full attention to the angel as he continued.

"Haku has not ever lost his kindness and gentleness, for he had spared Sasuke and Kiba's lives, as he did with anyone. Zabuza was the one who kills out of the pair. Yet the eventful day, when Gato had decided to kill Zabuza and Haku, was the turning point. Gato's men somehow managed to isolate Haku away from Zabuza and then captured the young man. Let's just say, Naruto, that women are the not the only ones to experience being violated in cruel ways."

The significance of those words hit Naruto hard as a full-power Rasengan. "Jiji-san, you don't mean…" he softly spoke.

Chikao nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. Some of Gato's men had mistaken Haku for a girl, just as you did, yet despite they'd learned he was a boy, some of them didn't care less. They had violated him, and to make sure he couldn't use any of his jutsu or tried to escape, they'd drugged him. He was rescued by Zabuza, but not before he experienced the worst things imaginable. The experience had left him broken and angry with very little trust in anyone except for Zabuza.

"Zabuza made Haku one of his personal elite warriors after he became Mizukage, and once the Land of Waves came under the Water Country's rule, he placed Haku as second-in-command under the Jounin Elite in control of the Wave Country. Haku had taken great pleasure in hunting down all of Gato's men who had violated him, yet despite this, he would not ever again regain his lost innocence."

Looking down, Naruto clenched his fists in helplessness rage. The friend he knew was alive but not well at all. The Land of Waves was now a conquered nation with its people suppressed under tyranny. Things just felt so hopeless.

Gazing back up into the angel's kind, sad eyes, the blond Konoha shinobi gulped. "Are things in other nations just as bad?"

Sighing, Chikao nodded an affirmative. "Yes, they are, and in some places, it's **much worse**."

After the elderly man placed a hand on his charge's shoulder, both of them disappeared in a whirl of soft wind, leaving behind the broken waves of a broken people in a slowly dying land.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 3)

A/Ns:

1) I'd thought that this might be the likely scenario to what would have happened to the Land of Waves if Naruto was not born. If Naruto was not there to defeat Haku, the battle might have been won in Zabuza's favor, and since Gato was obvious going to betray Zabuza, I really didn't see the greedy tyrant keeping the Mist nin long. It makes sense in the end that Zabuza would return later to oust Gato and keep the Land of Waves as part of his conquest.

2) I like Haku, yet I knew that his goody personality might be his undoing one day especially if he gets captured with no Zabuza around to save him. His girly appearance sure makes him a likely target for abuse and maybe rape, thus I knew if he was rape, he would not stay the same person afterward.

3) I understand that in the movie _It's a Wonderful Life_ George Bailey can actually interact with the people in the alternated timeline, the one where he was not born. It's just that to do so with Naruto will make the story more complex than I want to convey, so Naruto and Chikao are like spirits in the alternated timeline, where they can watch and listen but can not interact with events. Their interaction is much like how the Christmas Ghosts and Scrooge, from _A Christmas Carol_, can only watch and listen as they view events. Besides, as Chikao said, Naruto has not ever been born in this alternated world, so how can he interact if he has not been born?


	4. Chapter 4: Buried Sand

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :)

Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 3: TimTam's rule, and Perentie Fan

And thanks go to all who read Chapter 3. :)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 4: Buried Sand

The wind blew, causing some sand to fly along the currents below the hot sun in the sky. Along the route, the small gusts came to a city-size plateau in the middle of the desert and through the large openings, managed to enter the village that was in the valley in the heart of the plateau. The sandy wind ran along mostly empty streets until it came to a spherical building in the exact center of the village. There currents of air swept around the structure and continued onward through the small city. Yet some managed to go over the top of the building and blew the blond and gray hairs of the two men standing there. The blond, the youngest of the pair, blinked in surprise at what he was seeing around him, given he just arrived only a few seconds ago.

"This… This is Suna," Naruto whispered as his blue eyes took in the sight of the shinobi village, which was Konoha's greatest ally. He noticed there was no activity other than just a few ninjas around the administration building. There were no civilians walking about. No stores opened anywhere. It looked like entire village has been abandoned.

"Yes, that is right, Naruto," Chikao confirmed. "Welcome to Suna - The second mightiest ninja village in all the Elemental Countries. One of two powers that have toppled Konoha." The angel paused for a moment before shaking his head with a frown. "Well, they used to be that is." Seeing he has gained the teenage boy's attention from the site-seeing, the old man continued.

"Shortly after Konoha's fall, Suna regained the Wind Daimayo's support and aid, and slowly the village managed to regain their reputation throughout the Elemental Countries of being one of the strongest shinobi villages. Missions and money began to flow in, and the village began to prosper once more."

Seeing Chikao has stopped with his frown somewhat larger, the Konoha genin knew what he was going to hear next was not going to be good. "But something happened. Something caused Suna to fall."

Chikao nodded, his eyes firmed on his charge's electric blues. "Yes, that something was Gaara."

"What?!" Naruto blurted out in disbelief. "I know Gaara! He loves his village!"

Shaking his head, the gray-haired man shook his head. "Not on this world, Naruto." His face took on a school-teacher expression. "You have forgotten that it was **you** who defeated Gaara during the Suna-Oto Invasion. Not only did your victory over your fellow jinchuuriki helped save your village, it also changed Gaara for the better. He had taken a new approach to validate his existence by **helping** his people instead of killing them. As the Godiame Kazekage, Gaara brought a new age for Suna."

The blond Konoha ninja began to understand. "Yet here," he nearly whispered, "he's still a monster, a killer." Sadness came over his being as he faced away from the angel to look over the village again. It was hard for him to accept that his friend was still that deranged, cold murderer he had met at the Chuunin Exam.

"You're right, Naruto," Chikao nodded as he placed a hand on the young man's left shoulder in sympathy. "After the invasion, Gaara still was that cold killer who kills and murders to validate his existence. His siblings grew even more distance from him as his personality grew more and more into madness. It came to a point that the Suna people could not take it anymore, thus the Godiame Kazekage, Baki – the jounin-sensei of the Sabaku siblings, made a deal with a group of shinobi to get rid of Gaara once in for all."

Naruto turned his head to look at his guardian in confusion. "A group?"

"Yes, the Akatsuki," the angel answered.

"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed as he swiveled his whole body to face the old man. "That's insane! Did they know they were handing over the Shukaku to a group that would use the demon for evil purposes?!"

Chikao shook his head. "No, they didn't know, Naruto. Suna had no information regarding the Akatsuki other than they were a group of S-class missing nins. Yet the group has offered to take Gaara away at a time when Suna was getting desperate with Gaara's constant killings of villagers and shinobi alike."

Anger in his eyes, Naruto crossed his arms. "Knowing Gaara, he didn't cooperate and went with those devils. Right?"

"Yes, right again," the angel verified before pointing to a particular section of the Sand Village. "One year after the Suna-Oto Invasion, the combined forces of Suna and the Akatsuki took on Gaara. The battle wiped out a quarter of the village along the southern wall due to Gaara awakening the Shukaku. In the end however, Gaara lost, thus the Akatsuki gained the One-Tailed demon, while Suna felt relief in finally found peace. The price was heavy though for Suna, for not only they lost a quarter of the village, but they had lost their Kazekage as well as many shinobi."

Naruto snorted, not particular caring regarding that Suna lost a good deal of their shinobi population. Even though Gaara was insane in this world, he still was a fellow jinchuuriki, and the blond still felt it was a betrayal to stab Gaara in the back like that. "So, they came out okay, right? Suna gets a new Kazekage, and they rebuild."

Frowning, Chikao shook his head. "Surely, even you are not blind, Naruto." He again pointed the devastated area. "If that was the case, why is that section has not been rebuilt in over two years?"

Blinking, the Konoha jinchuuriki realized the old man was right. Why hasn't Suna rebuild after the battle?

Seeing that the young boy saw the point, Chikao explained. "Suna's measure of peace didn't last long after Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki, Naruto. Within a month or so after the battle, the Wind Daimyo once more cut funds for the village and diverted missions to another country. This time, most of the missions went to the Sound."

"The Sound?!" the boy nearly screamed in disbelief.

Chikao nodded. "Yes, the Sound. Orochimaru was a crafty politician, for he had sweet-talked the Wind Daimyo that it was better to send missions to the Sound. For a better price and better quality, the Sound would able to do missions better than the Sand Village."

"But… But…" Naruto tried to form his thoughts into words. "But are Suna and Oto allies in this world?"

"They were not close allies, Naruto," Chikao replied, "especially after Suna found Orochimaru murdered their Fourth Kazekage and had tricked them into invading Konoha. Yet knowing the Sound has become the most powerful shinobi village in all the lands, the Suna council had decided to remain allies with them. Reluctant allies, that is."

The angel sighed and shook his head sadly. "Yet Orochimaru's betrayal was a blow that they couldn't recover no matter how hard the Sixth Kazekage had tried. Orochimaru, after hearing of what had happened to Suna, knew that if missions were diverted from Suna to Oto, it would cause a devastating economic blow to the Wind Country's shinobi village. The Snake Sannin had been waiting for such a moment to swipe Suna out of the picture, and it had been handed to him in the form of the battle to get rid of Gaara."

Indicating the entire village with sweep of a hand, Chikao finished his explanation. "What you are seeing now, Naruto, is a dying village. As money stopped flowing into the village, people had begun leaving to seek greener pastures, and over two years, the village's population dwindled. Even shinobi left to join the Sound or other better villages, especially since there was nothing Suna could do to bring these shinobi back. The very few shinobi and people you see now are all that remains of a once proud and powerful ninja village."

Naruto felt a deep stab of sadness washed over him as his blue eyes scanned the village before him. Besides the destroyed section, some buildings appeared to be nearly buried in sand that has blew into the village over the past two years. Many streets were covered in sand as well. Overall, Suna looked very much like a ghost town with no life at all. A virtual dead city, which was far from the lively place he knew.

For the Konoha genin, he realized the irony of the entire situation. When Suna had lost to Konoha during the Suna-Oto Invasion, the village in the long term came out better than they were before the invasion. Yet in this world, a world where he, Naruto Uzumaki, was not ever born, Suna has won against Konoha, but in the long term, they ended up worse than they were before the invasion. It was clear Suna was going to end up like Konoha, showing how much the two villages' lives were intertwined.

Feeling someone tapping his shoulder, Naruto twisted around to face Chikao, who pointed toward the building's roof entrance, a door that no doubt opened to a staircase leading down. "Come, Naruto. We're going to see the Sixth Kazekage."

"Eh? Why?" the blond confusingly asked as he followed the elderly man.

"Because you going to witness today Suna's last day," came the reply. With nothing more coming from the angel, Naruto followed down into the building, and few minutes later, they were in front of the Kazekage's office door. It was perfect timing that an unfamiliar Suna jounin came and knocked on the door before entering. It gave Naruto and Chikao the opportunity to enter.

Once inside, the pair trained their eyes on the jounin who stopped in front of the Kazekage's desk and the person sitting in the chair behind it. The chair was faced outward toward the windows behind the desk, thus no one could see Suna's leader at all.

"Kazekage-sama!" the jounin frantically began. "Reports indicated the demon has been spotted and heading this way! All efforts to stop him have failed! What are your orders?! What should we do?!"

A moment of silence engulfed the room until the Sixth Kazekage spoke. "We can do nothing. We'll make our last stand here. Least we'll die with honor knowing we didn't abandon our village. We'll die with our village. Nothing more."

The jounin was visibly shaken for a moment, until his face became firm with determination and respect. He bowed toward his leader. "I'll inform everyone." With that said, he left the room.

Witnessing what he saw, Naruto was shock. What demon were they talking about? Was today truly Suna's last day of existence? Yet further from knowing this, the voice of the Kazekage made Naruto think. It definitely was not a voice of a man.

"Who is this Sixth Kazekage?" Naruto inquired to no one. "That voice is not a man's, but it quite familiar."

"It should be, Naruto," Chikao responded. "You know her well."

At that moment, the chair rotated around to reveal the feminine face of the Sixth Kazekage. Naruto gasped in recognition, for how could he not forget that blonde hair, exotic teal eyes, and determine face of one of the strongest kunoichi of his generation?

"Temari," Naruto whispered in awe as his blue eyes examined the person, who has became one of his closet friends from Suna.

Besides from the fact that Temari was wearing the blue/white Kazekage robes, Naruto was no fool to miss one other noticeable change regarding the kunoichi. Her hair was not in the typical four ponytails that was Temari's customary hairstyle. Instead it was cut short. Very short. Almost enough to make the young woman looked like a man. Her eyes conveyed easily of a person who was defeated despite the determine face.

"What happened to her?" Naruto softly asked as Temari rose from her chair before turning to face the windows.

Chikao sighed sadly. "She lost everything, Naruto, and I do mean everything." Seeing the young man was now looking at him, the old man carried on. "She didn't have much in the ways of friends. Being the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage as well as the sister of Gaara has made many wary of being close to her, so her family was the only people she was close. Despite that Gaara frightens her, he was still her brother, so it had sadden her to have lost him to the Akatsuki despite knowing it was for the better of the village. Yet she had also lost her other brother during the battle against Gaara. Being the only close family member she had, it was a real blow to her person to had lost Kankuro, thus she became all alone."

Sad blue eyes focused on the kunoichi, who scanned the village with depressing eyes. "Temari," Naruto whispered, his heart going out to the young woman.

"Yet it was the deterioration of her beloved village that did her in," Chikao added. "No matter what she did to prevent it, it saddened her deeply to see the village she loved slowly decayed into nothing, knowing well she was going to be the last Kazekage in history."

Watching the brave kunoichi, the blond jinchuuriki shook his head a bit. "I know she had made many friends in Konoha. She was not ever so alone like this."

"Yes," Naruto's guardian angel acknowledged. "Yet again that was only after you had defeated Gaara during the invasion. You changed Gaara and in turn, changed the Sabaku family. With Gaara kind and nice, he did his best to become close to his two siblings, and in turn, Temari and Kankuro began to have a strong sense of family for the first time in their lives. On top of having a family once again, Temari made many friends from Konoha, thus her life was not ever alone with you in existence. Without you…" he spread his hands out. "Well, you can see the results."

Once again, Naruto's heart went out to the blonde kunoichi. He had no idea that single battle he had against Gaara would dramatically changed so many people's lives.

Outside the windows, the wind began to pick up speed, blowing sand faster. This caused Temari to stiffen her spine with a grim face. "It's time," she said before picking up her battle fan to fasten it behind her. Only then did she leave the office.

"What's going on?!" asked a startled Naruto as he quickly followed Chikao out of the office and tailed the speed-walking kunoichi kage back toward the rooftop.

"The final moments of Suna are almost here, Naruto," the older man replied as they ascended the stairs to the roof. "The wind is gaining speed by unnatural means, thus it shows the demon is almost upon us."

"What demon are you talking about?!" Naruto nearly screamed as they burst through the rooftop doorway as they trailed Temari. All around them, the blond boy could make out Suna shinobi standing tall and ready for battle, and following their gaze, the Konoha shinobi knew they were looking at the western gate.

As the wind sped even more, blowing hair wildly about as the unseen pair stood behind the Sixth Kazekage, the land began to shake as a rumble was heard from afar just beyond the western walls. Naruto knew that rumble was not something that bode well for Suna.

Surely enough to Naruto's dread, the next thing he knew, the entire western gate of the wall was blown away by a powerful wind blast, which shattered and scattered the rock pieces, and as the dust settled down, a recognizable form was seen standing tall where the gate used to be. It came to no surprise for the Kyuubi jinchuuriki to actually hear what came next.

"WHA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAA! HELLO, SUNA BABY! I'M BAAAACK!"

"The Shukaku!" Naruto pointed with wide eyes toward the One-Tailed bijuu standing so tall in the opening he has created in the wall.

Chikao grimly nodded. "The Shukaku was the reason why the wind is gaining speed. It's a wind demon of great power, thus why it was fitting that Suna had it under their possession. Yet now, that power has been turned against them by the very organization that had helped the village get rid of it – The Akatsuki."

Naruto quickly turned his head to eye the angel. "Say what?! Are you saying the Akatsuki right now is controlling the Shukaku?!"

Serious yet sad eyes locked on the genin's electric blues. "Precisely what I'm saying, Naruto. The Akatsuki as of now are starting their campaign to conquer the Elemental Countries if not the world. With all **nine** bijuu under their control, their first goal is to eliminate every shinobi village in existence to ensure there will be no shinobi capable of stopping them. Suna is the weakest now of all the villages, thus they figured they would start by wiping out the Sand Village. Then they will move to the next village and the next, and so forth down the line."

Temari's high voice caught Naruto and Chikao's attention. "Forces of Suna! ATTACK!" With that command, she leaped away followed by the remaining Suna forces. They all sped toward the raccoon-like demon as it walked into village toward the center.

Watching in horror, knowing Temari and the Suna shinobi were all about to die, Naruto took note of Chikao's voice while not letting his eyes off the enfolding scene as the wind began blowing harder around them. "Naruto, this is the start of a great war that will sweep across the lands and impact everyone everywhere. Two great powers will fight for dominance over power & control, ushering in a new dark age of sorrow and pain."

"HA, HA, HA! SO THE LITTLE FLEAS WANT TO PLAY, EH?" Shukaku said as he observed the approaching shinobi. "HOW ABOUT I WARM YOU UP?" He sucked in much air as he could, inflating his stomach.

"No." Naruto shook his head, knowing well what the Shukaku was doing. "No… Temari get away!"

"WIND BULLET!" With one giant lurch, the One-Tail released a massive blast of wind against the shinobi. Some scattered before the impact, but many were caught in the blast as the wind blew them and buildings away like they were twigs.

"WA, HA, HA, HA, HA! FOOLS, YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ME1" the bijuu laughed before commencing with blowing away the remaining forces of Suna, leaving no survivors.

Dropping to one knee and looking down as he felt and heard the continuous blasts and explosions, Naruto clenched his eyes and a fist in anger as a few tears ran and fell off his face. This nightmare couldn't be happening. First Konoha, and now Suna. How many more of his friends in this world have to suffer?!

Feeling a comforting hand on his shoulder, the blond teenager looked up into the sad eyes of his guardian angel. "There is nothing anyone can do, Naruto. Suna is dead," he declared before placing the same hand underneath the arm to coast his young charge to rise. Once he stood upright again, Chikao nodded. "Come, let us move on."

Before the elderly man could do anything, the Konoha ninja stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Chikao-jisan, are there any Konoha survivors? Surely there are survivors after Oto and Suna destroyed Konoha, right?"

Chikao sighed, for he was afraid the young man would ask such a question. He was surprised it took the boy some time to even think about it, for the angel thought he would have asked that question when they were in Konoha.

With a nod, the kind, old man answered. "Yes, there are survivors, Naruto, but there are so few of them. They stand no chance against the current Sound forces, and surely, they have no hope to even fight against the Akatsuiki, who have all nine bijuu under their command. I'm taking you to see them now."

Naruto nodded his understanding and thanks, and only then did another question came to his mind. "If I was not born, who became the container for the Kyuubi? What happened to allow those Akatsuki bastards to get their hands on the fox?"

The forlorn expression on Chikao's face told Naruto everything before the answer was spoken. "There was a Kyuubi jinchuuriki, Naruto. However, you're not going to like what I'm going to tell you."

In a small burst of wind, the angel and the teenage boy vanished from the Suna administration building's rooftop, leaving the shell of Suna behind as the Shukaku carried on its destruction of the once proud shinobi village. Soon, nothing was left as Suna died and was buried underneath the sand with only the howling wind to mourn its passing.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC (End of Chapter 4)

A/Ns:

1) Well, I pretty much figured that Gaara would still be the same cold-hearted bastard if no one had defeated him. I have read fics where Naruto was not there during the invasion yet Gaara somehow has changed regardless. I really don't think so, for Gaara's defeat at Naruto's hands was the key to the Suna jinchuuriki's personality change. So if Gaara did not change, it is a sure fire bet that he would have continue to spread fear for the Suna villagers, thus it was only a matter of time before the people of Suna wanted Gaara to be taken care of no matter the cost.

2) As for Suna's downfall, I thought it would be ironic that Suna would eventually share the same fate as Konoha. It's just one possible direction for Suna's future after winning against Konoha during the Oto-Suna Invasion.

3) Some of you are wondering how the Akatsuki could have gotten their hands on all nine bijuu, when in canon, they have yet to get the last two demons. Explanations will be in the next chapter, and it is tied with the fate of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki of this alternate world. So be patience. :)

4) Once more, I have to mention that I'm aware that there would be grammar and spelling mistakes made in this fic. I'm not perfect when it comes to spelling and grammar, so I ask not to crit me or call me up on these mistakes. I don't have a betareader/proofreader for my Naruto fics to correct these mistakes, so readers just have to live with them.


	5. Chapter 5: Failed Resistance

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

**Author Note (Please Read!)**: Yeah, I know this update is more than two year late, but now that I have finished "Unexpected Love", I'd decided to go back and try to finish this fic. I figured that it would likely take me just two or three more chapters, after this one, to complete the story.

And yes, I'm quite aware of all the changes that had came to the Naruto World, since I last updated two years ago. With this in mind, I want people to know that "A World without You" is an AU, thus events and knowledge, from Manga Chapter 383 onward, will be ignored in this fic. I had already had plans to tell the story in a certain way, thus stuff, like Madara's Moon Eye Plan, can not exist in this story.

So I hope this time I'll finish this fic for good before the end of 2010 year. (chuckle) XD

Oh, I think after two years, it is best for everyone to read the story again from the beginning. I certainly did in order to not to make any continuity mistakes. ^^;

* * *

A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 5: Futile Resistance

When Chikao and Naruto whirled back into existence, the blond boy looked around to see they were now in a forest. Exactly where, he did not know. Yet what he saw made him blink, realizing that they emerged in the middle of a huge camp.

"Welcome to the Resistance, Naruto," the elderly angel announced, gesturing to the entire camp, composed of many tents, campfires, and other things one would see in a permanent camp.

"Resistance?" asked Naruto, a bit bewildered. Gazing about, he saw many people wore the Leaf hiate-ate, thus his eyes went wide upon the recognition. "They're from Konoha!"

Chikao nodded. "Yes, they were. When Konoha was destroyed, any shinobi survivors retreated and eventually regrouped far from the village. After the Fire Country's capital was gone and the Sound took over the nation, the Resistance was born." The old man walked away, heading toward a particular tent, which was larger than the all the others.

Naruto suddenly ran a bit to catch up with his guardian angel. "Whoa, Chikao-jiisan! Are you saying they're fighting the Sound?"

"Yes, they are," he replied as he approached the tent. "These shinobi are led by a man you know very well, Naruto." With that said, he passed through the front flap, and soon after, Naruto followed suit.

Inside, there was a table in the center, surrounded by three bunk beds, various boxes containing food, rations, and weapons. A few kerosene lamps provided lamination. It was clear to Naruto that this was the command center for the Resistance. Yet his blue eyes went wide upon recognizing one of two men looking down at a map on the table.

"Ero-sennin!" cried out the blond boy, his eyes growing moist in seeing his sannin teacher alive and well. He rushed toward the taller man, but when he tried to place his hand on the older man's shoulder, it went right through his body, like a ghost.

Upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, a surprised Naruto turned his head to face Chikao, who wore a sad grin. "Remember, Naruto, you and I are not really here. We're just specters. We can hear and see, but we can not touch or interfere."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," admitted Naruto with a forlorn grin of his own as he returned to observe Jiraiya, who wore a serious face as he looked at the map. Yet, despite that the Toad Sage has not change in way of clothes and appearances, Naruto's blue eyes did notice a scar that ran down the length of Jiraiya's left cheek. "With the exception of the scar, Ero-sennin looks the same to me."

"Outward, yes, he has not change much," the angel said. "However, he is man who has lost a great deal, Naruto. His nation. His village. Many dear people.

"As I'd told you, Jiraiya was not there during the Suna-Oto Invasion due to he had no reason to return to Konoha at the time. With you not being born, he simply had continued gathering information from his spy network.

"However, after the invasion, Jiraiya immediately gathered the survivors to form a force to fight back. He led a charge in determination to finally kill Orochimaru once in for all." Chikao sighed. "It failed, thus why he has that scar on his face, given to him by Orochimaru."

Naruto couldn't believe it. "He couldn't beat that Snake? Why? Ero-sennin is one of the most powerful shinobi in the world!"

Chikao shook his head and frowned. "By the time Jiraiya launched his attack, it was too late. Orochimaru became even more powerful. Not to mention that Jiraiya only was able to muster 100 shinobi survivors. As of now, there is less than 30 after three years of guerilla warfare."

Closing his eyes as he clenched his hands, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki still couldn't believe it. Was this all that left of Konoha? Less than 30 ninja out of a force of several thousands?

Opening his blue eyes, Naruto gazed at the second man standing besides Jiraiya, and the moment he did, his eyes went wide upon recognizing the man, who wore a goatee and was smoking a cigarette. "Kami, Asuma-sensei!"

Predicting the questions the young man was about to ask, Chikao decided to answer them. "He had not ever died by the Akatsuki's hands in this world. Asuma survived the invasion, and since the Akatsuki had captured this world's Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, they had no reason to return to Konoha, not to mention Konoha presently is in ruins."

Remembering Chikao had mentioned how Konohamaru had died, Naruto felt his heart ached. "I don't think Asuma-sensei took his family's death well, right?"

"How could anyone?" asked the angel rhetorically before gesturing to the smoking man. "Look at his face, Naruto. His eyes are hard with no hope in them. He lost his father, his brother, his sister-in-law, and his nephew. Not to mention he lost the woman he loved."

Naruto blinked in confusion at first before a sad grin came to his face upon remembering. "Kurenai-sensei. I was there for the funeral, and I can tell she was lost. She did not cry, but those red eyes of her were sad and hollow." His grin faded as he sighed. "So… She died too."

"Yes, she did," Chikao nodded. "She was captured during the invasion, and being a beautiful woman, she was…" The elderly man shook his head before speaking again. "Let's just say, Naruto, that women prisoners are treated by the Sound as nothing more than animals for pleasure and sometimes breeding."

Once more, the blond demon-container clenched his fists in frustration and anger as he closed his eyes. Was the world really this cruel? His eyelids slid up before gazing at the last Sarutobi in this dark world. "What about Team 10? What happened to them?"

Chikao closed his eyes for a moment. "You should not have asked me that question."

Naruto grimaced. "That bad, uh?"

"It was very bad," replied the guardian angel. "Your friend Chouji was killed in his sleep while still under the genjutsu at the Chuunin Exam stadium. Ino was captured easily, since she too was under the genjutsu. She suffered the same fate as Kurenai." Chikao felt for his young charge as he watched him clenched his fists again. "Shikamaru survived the invasion, only to die later during the attack Jiraiya staged against Orochimaru."

Before Naruto could say anything, Jiraiya spoke, making the blond boy and the elderly angel paid attention to the Toad Sannin. "We should attack the power plants again. Least it helps prevent Orochimaru from doing most of his experiments."

Asuma grunted. "Maybe. Yet what good will that does us? They will simply rebuild, as they always do."

Raising an eyebrow, Jiraiya eyed the younger jounin with a bit of skepticism. "You sound like you've given up."

"Maybe I have," the bearded man admitted softly. Seeing the Toad Sannin's disappointed and slight angry expression, Asuma elaborated. "After three years, we're no closer to our goal. We're down to less than 30 people now, while Oto have now thousands in their ranks." He sighed and locked eyes firmly with Jiraiya's. "We've should have left the country long ago and sought refuge elsewhere."

"We've already had this discussion before," nearly growled Jiraiya. "Where do you think we can go? Not counting Suna since they're nearly gone, the other major shinobi villages will not accept us. The smaller nations are too fearful of Orochimaru to allow any Konoha shinobi safe harbor, and this extends to all the nations beyond the Elemental Countries. It leaves us with only two choices – either we win or we die."

Inhaling a whiff of smoke as he looked away, Asuma sighed as he exhaled the smoke. "I should have died along side Kakashi. Least I would be with Kurenai and the others by now."

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead. Asuma was not the only one thinking of such things. The morale of the camp has fallen deeply in the past year with each death of another comrade. Trying to keep optimism in such bleak times was nearly impossible.

Naruto turned to face his guardian angel. "What happened to Kakashi-sensei?"

Chikao shook his head. "He died during Jiraiya's attack on Orochimaru, and he didn't died at the hands of any mere shinobi, but at the hands of Orochimaru himself. Jiraiya, who also was fighting Orochimaru at the time, was not able to prevent Kakashi's death."

"Kakashi-sensei," sadly whispered the blond jinchuuriki before shaking his head with eyes closed. "Is there any hope at all for this world?"

"Hope is pretty much non-existence," Chikao replied. "Kiri is still weak from their civil war. Iwa and Kumo might have a chance against Oto, but not against the Akatsuki, which controls the 9 Bijuu."

"And the smaller nations?" asked the blond as his eyelids slid up.

Another sigh escaped Chikao's lips. "Do you really think any of them stand a chance, when the major nations might not survive? Some of them are currently rule by dictators. The Land of Snow is still ruled by Doto Kazahana."

A surprised Naruto whipped his head around to face the older man. "But I defeated that creep! Koyuki is ruling the Land of Spring!"

"Not on this world, Naruto," softly explained the angel. "You and Team 7 weren't there to defeat Doto. On this world, he was successful in assassinating Koyuki, and once he found the so-called 'ultimate weapon' is nothing but a warming generator, he had it destroyed. The Land of Snow never became the Land of Spring, because you weren't there."

Naruto's mind was racing. "What about Bird Country?"

"Toki had not ever revealed she had disguised as Sagi. Without you being there, the Watari ninjas managed to kill Toki. The country is now being ruled by the Watari ninjas."

"The Land of Greens?"

Chikao shook his head. "The land is still being ruled by those three criminal brothers. They killed Haruna."

Feeling sick, Naruto clutched his chest, yet he still heard Chikao, who spread his hands out. "Do you see now?" he asked before clasping his hands together. "Not only were you important in the history of two major villages, you were instrumental in restoring Good in many other countries, Naruto. This world is ruled mostly by Evil. A world with very little or no hope at all."

Just then a powerful explosion was felt and heard outside, causing Asuma and Jiraiya to hurry out of the tent, followed quickly by Naruto. Chikao took his time and walked out instead. There he joined Naruto as they watched the camp come under attack by shinobi wearing familiar hitai-ate with a music note.

"Sound," Naruto murmured. "They're from the Sound."

"Yes, they are," confirmed the elderly angel. "What we are witnessing, Naruto, is the beginning of the very end of the Konoha Resistance. Many will die today, while a few will survive, like Jiraiya, but they will not last for long. Jiraiya later will die, the same way as before… At the hands of the Akatsuki known as Pain."

The blond jinchuuriki couldn't believe it. Was this the very end of what was left of Konoha? Will the Will of Fire be snuff out forever on this world?

Suddenly, the fighting paused as the Oto shinobi jumped back to the camp's border, before they all knelt on their knees as a male figure emerged from the forest in view. Four individuals, two on either side of him, flanked the man, who was quite clear the leader of the entire Sound force.

Asuma immediately growled upon seeing the person. "What are you doing here, traitor?"

"What a fucker!" said a redhead girl, who stood on the man's right side. "You just don't see you guys are on the loosing side."

"Yeah," agreed a grinning fat man on the other side. "These guys are finally going to die."

"No doubt," spoke a third guy, who has six arms on his body.

"I can't wait to start killing these people," a fourth guy said.

The leader calmly addressed his subordinates. "Tayuya, Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon… You should not have spoken first before I spoken first. Furthermore, Sarutobi-san was addressing me, not you."

The four Oto shinobi grimaced. "Sorry, Neji-sama," they apologized together.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes as he raised a shaky finger toward the Oto leader. "Neji! He's a Sound ninja! How?" He immediately pointed to the four flanking the Hyuuga. "And how come those four are alive? They're supposed to be dead!"

"Dead?" Chikao asked. "Naruto, that mission, to retrieve Sasuke, had never occurred on this world. The Sound Four had not ever met their deaths here, so they are quite alive."

Neji coolly looked into the eyes of Jiraiya and Asuma. "I told you that Fate would deem the Sound as the victors, and as the best, I knew it was Fate for me to side with those who are stronger."

"Still talking about Fate?" Asuma nearly grated. "With such an attitude, I'm surprise Orochimaru have not killed you yet."

The Hyuuga gave a tiny smirk. "With the exception of him and Kabito-sama, no one has yet to defeat me. I am the best as Fate deemed."

This time Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Fate? This is not the Neji I know! He sounds just like he was 3 years ago!"

"Does that really surprise you, Naruto?" inquired a baffled Chikao. "It was **you** who defeated him during the Chuunin Exams and changed his attitude for the better. Neji would have not been promoted to Jounin with such a negative personality.

"On this world, Neji has not change at all. After surviving the invasion and joining the Resistance, he'd decided that 'Fate' was telling him that the Sound was the best for him to join, knowing the Resistance was doomed to failure. So, he left the Resistance and joined the Sound. In exchange for information on the Resistance, Neji was offered to become one of Orochimaru's elite. He easily defeated each of the Sound Four, and when Kimimaro died, Neji became the new leader of the Sound Four, thus they are the Sound Five on this world."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga prodigy. "You're a disgrace, Hyuuga. Not only to the oath you swore upon becoming a Leaf shinobi but to your teammates as well."

Neji simply scoffed. "An oath that is worthless, given there is no more Konoha to protect. As for those **losers** I had for teammates, they were nothing to me. In the end, they died anyway."

As Asuma snarled and Jiraiya displayed cool anger, Naruto narrowed his eyes for the first time. "How can he **say **that? "

Chikao sighed. "As I said, Naruto, he has not changed at all. He did not really thought highly of his team then, seeing them as just a means to an end, nothing more."

Feeling sadness come over him again, Naruto asked the question he knew he would regret hearing the answers. "And his team? He said they were dead."

"Gai had died valiantly defending Lee and Tenten, who were both unconscious at the Chuunin Exam stadium from the genjutsu. Lee, as with Chouji, died in his sleep, murdered, while Tenten, as with all Konoha kunoichi captured, died later after being tortured and raped."

Naruto closed his eyes as he remembered. Like him, Bushy Brows was always working hard to improve his skills and grow stronger; wanting to one day beat Neji one day. Tenten was soft and kind but serious and fierce when it came to fighting. She admired Neji, thus it was hard to think the Hyuuga boy of this world would be so cold to forget her. As for Gai-sensei, the blond shinobi respected the man highly for this dedication and power. He was a bit loopy, like Lee, but Naruto could not ever see the older taijutsu master as weak.

"Enough talking," Neji said. "I gave you this respite, but now it is time for you all to die as Fate deemed." He paused before pointing forward. "ATTACK!"

With that single command, the Sound began to renew their attack on what remains of the Konoha forces. Naruto watched as the onslaught began to take human lives, mostly Konoha ninja, especially when the Sound Four started using their Curse Seal powers.

Yet what surprised the Kyuubi jinchuuriki the most was seeing Neji transform, much like the Sound Four. The Hyuuga genius was fighting against Asuma, and since it was apparent the seasoned jounin could take on the younger shinobi, Neji had decided to use the powers Orochimaru had given him.

"I don't believe it," softly spoken Naruto as he watched Neji become a monster, much like Sasuke had at the Valley of the End. "How can Neji sink so low to accept such power from that snake bastard?"

Chikao placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This is not the Neji you know, Naruto. His mind is too far-gone into the darkness to ever see the light again. He'd accepted such power in order to maintain his illusion that he is better than everyone else. Instead of being a champion for Good, he is a representative of Evil."

Naruto shook his head, still unable to believe what he was witnessing. A thought gave him pause. "What about Tsunade-banchan? If she was here, she would have turned the tide."

When no answer came for a few moments, the whisker-faced blond turned his head to face a disheartened Chikao. "You really are quite naïve, Naruto. Like you were with Neji, you were a big influence in Tsuande's life. If you were not there to convince her to return to Konoha, how do you suppose her life would have turned out?"

Gulping, the blond teenager had a bad feeling he was not going to like the answer. His mind was whirling on the memories of Tsunade when he first met her, and to think she was still acting like **that** in this world, it brought a sick feeling to his stomach.

Place a comforting hand on his young charge's shoulder, Chikao nodded once. "Come, Naruto. I'll show you what has become of Konoha's greatest kunoichi. Judging from your face, you will not like what you're going to see."

With that said, the pair disappeared in a whirl of wind, as the bloody battle continued. The last shinobi survivors of an once proud village gave their all for one final time… And failed.

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TBC (End of Chapter 5)

A/Ns:

1) I'd decided not to describe Neji's Level 2 Curse Seal form. I'll leave this to your imagination. I just can't wrap my brains around what he would look like without making it sound like a copy off Sasuke or any of the Sound Five. :)

2) If some of you are asking why I made Neji a member of the Sound, I say, "Why not?" Before Naruto had defeated him at the Chuunin Exams, he was pretty arrogant and selfish from what I can tell, thus he does not appear to really care much for the village. Take in his so-called belief in Fate, and one will have a guy, who is likely to side with the strongest side. Therefore, after Konoha was destroyed, it was oblivious that strongest side was Orochimaru's Sound Village.

So given his attitude, it was possible Neji would have joined the Sound, if Konoha was destroyed.

3) So next chapter will be about Tsunade, and if anyone remembers how she was when Naruto first met her, you will likely know what Tsunade would be like in this dark world.


	6. Chapter 6: The Last Gamble

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)

* * *

A World without You  
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

Chapter 6: The Last Gamble

As the sun was starting to set, the residents of Tanzaku Quarters continued to go about their business as the street lamps blinked on to light up the increasing darkness. They were unaware of two people appearing on one road within a small whirlwind. The youngest of the pair, the one with blond golden hair, was looking around, his blue eyes taking in the site around him.

"I think I know this place," said Naruto, while he continued to twist his body around to look at the buildings and people. "This is the town where I first met Tsunade-baachan and Shizune-neechan."

Chikao gave a slight grin. "That's right, Naruto. This is Tanzaku Quarters." He began walking away, and soon Naruto followed, still looking around at the place.

"So Tsunade-baachan is here?" asked the blond.

After raising an eyebrow at his young charge, Chikao replied. "You should know her well enough to know she loves gambling, Naruto."

Naruto sheepishly chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "You're right. She loves gambling." He lowered his hand and sighed a bit happily at the memories. "She gave me a bet that I couldn't complete the Rasengan in a week, yet I had proven her wrong." His right fingers reached up to trace the edges of the crystal necklace underneath his jacket and shirt. "I certainly can't ever forget that month."

As his eyes wandered about, the Konoha genin noticed something before pointing up toward a hilltop surrounded by walls. "They must have rebuilt the castle," he mentioned.

Chikao shook his head. "No, they have not."

His words made the teenage boy stopped, thus making the elderly angel stopped as well. "What do you mean? I remembered the castle was destroyed by that snake bastard."

"Not on this world, Naruto," answered Chikao. "Unlike what you remembered, Orochimaru of this world did not search for Tsunade, thus he did not destroyed Tanzaku Castle." His finger pointed to the castle on the hill. "What you are seeing is the original Tanzaku Castle."

Momentarily pointing his own finger at the castle before gesturing it at his guardian angel, Naruto blinked in understanding. "So, does this mean Hokage-jiji didn't seal Orochimaru's arms?"

"He did, Naruto," replied the angel. "It is just Orochimaru saw no reason to seek out Tsunade, since he have someone special in his possession that he did not have in your world." With that said, he continued their trek with Naruto following.

When the elderly guardian did not elaborate further on the story, it made the golden-haired teen wondered who was so special that made Orochimaru not sought out Tsunade. Yet before he could voice his thoughts, he saw something that made his eyes went wide as they turned into another street.

The entire street, as far as he could see in either direction, was littered with flashing neo sighs and billboards on the top and sides of buildings. Even the windows on street level have fancy advertisements displayed. There was so much light that the regular street lamps weren't even needed.

"I don't recall this place ever looked like this!" a flabbergasted Naruto finally spoke as he continued to gaze around.

Chikao frowned in distaste. "That's because under Orochimaru's rule, regulations, that were in place under the Fire Daimyo, have been eliminated. Businesses, especially the gambling halls and casinos, can construct many signs, billboards, and ads, as they want. Architectural structures no longer have to look pleasing or blend in with nature."

With a wave of a hand, the old man gestured to everything around him. "Take a good look, Naruto. This is what life under Orochimaru's rule is like. Lawlessness and chaos dominate in this new Rice Country, ruled by Orochimaru's Sound force. Good morals barely exist in this country. In order to survive, you have to become immoral. In other words, it's a dog-eats-dog society."

As they strolled on, Naruto saw what Chikao was referring. At a bar stand, a drunken man passed out, and when he did, another guy took his wallet, while no one said anything. From a second story window, a dead body was tossed out into a side ally. Immediately, a few poor people ran to the corpse, trying to scavenge anything, including the clothes. A teenage girl, wearing attire that were half dirty, screamed, kicked, and fought several men as they dragged her into another side ally, and this went on as two Oto ninjas walked by and done nothing.

Naruto felt sick. "How can Orochimaru allow this? Should his forces be enforcing the laws?"

With a shake of his head, Chikao frowned some more. "You obviously know Orochimaru have no care for human lives, Naruto. As long as they do not speak or do anything against him, he leaves the people alone.

"As for the law, there is no law here. I told you that lawlessness thrive in this country." His hand gestured to the gambling establishments. "All the big businesses here are run by the mobs. Every month they pay Orochimaru a huge 'fee', and in return, he let them run their businesses their way without interference from any Sound shinobi. Even the local Sound shinobi get kickbacks and bribes to turn the other way. This is true for the rest of the country. The ones suffering are mostly the average citizens, who are being squeezed dry of money by taxes imposed by Orochimaru and the occasional mobster, who wants 'security' payment."

The blonde boy shook his head. "That makes no sense. Would giving the mob such power make them want more?"

Chikao nodded his head. "That's true, but Orochimaru would not allow anyone to overrule his authority. One mob organization tried by thinking it would easy to bribe most Oto shinobi to side against Orochimaru. They failed due to Oto shinobi knowing better to ever betray their boss or else receive a grueling death, and once Orochimaru found out, he destroyed the entire organization with no one spared. It was a clear message to all the other mobs to not ever cross Orochimaru."

Naruto swallowed. It was quite clear that being governed under the Snake Sannin was harsh.

When Chikao turned to enter one of the casinos, Naruto followed with a baffled expression. "Why are we going in here?"

"Because this is where we'll find Tsunade," came the reply as the pair passed rows of slot machines, familiar gambling tables, and other venues. Even in here, there were rudely people and attempts to rob others, but the big bulky security guards were swift to deal with transgressors. Despite the lawlessness outside, it was clear the mobsters would not allow anyone to rob or tear apart their establishments.

As they walked by a corner bar and dining area, the elderly angle led Naruto down a hallway lined with sliding shoji doors. Having been in a few casinos from his training trip with Jiraiya, Konoha's jinchuuriki knew these were private rooms for business meetings, secluded gambling practices, and other activities people do when they rent the rooms.

Stopping off the side of one door, Chikao with an arm halted his young charge. Naruto was about to ask what he was doing, when the door slid open to reveal a waiter pushing a serving cart containing dirty dishes, glasses, and chopsticks. Once the waiter and cart was in the hallway, the angel stepped into the room, pulling Naruto along with him.

As the waiter closed the door, Naruto gave a raised eyebrow at his guardian angel. Chikao gave a small apologetic grin. "We're not ghosts per se, Naruto. Despite we can not interact with the world around us now, we can't walk through walls, floors, etc. It's one of the rules my Boss established for this 'trip', so you will not get ahead of yourself to think you can just walk into a room uninvited."

Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit. "I'm not a pervert."

Chikao chuckled. "I did not even say you were, young man. Yet now that you mentioned it, it's good thing the Boss made this rule. You are a teenage boy, and I know young boys like you can get ahead of yourself regarding young girls."

"I don't go peeping at women!" Naruto raised a fist.

The angel simply shrugged and turned his head to look ahead. "Whatever you say, young man," he said with another chuckle.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto turned his head away from the amused angel. Why did most people think he's some crazy, hormone freak unable to control himself regarding girls? Yeah, he certainly wouldn't mind seeing the ladies naked. What boy wouldn't, unless he was gay? Yet, he was not the type to actually peep at women or say anything perverted to them. He respected them highly not to ever cross the line.

Chikao kept his laughter in check. He knew his young charge was quite respectful toward the opposite gender, yet he couldn't pass the opportunity for a little teasing.

Then a familiar feminine voice rang throughout the room, alerting Naruto to his left where a buxom blonde woman was sitting at one end of a long floor mat used for dice games. "I won fair and square! Don't double-cross me!"

Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment in recognition. "Tsuande-baachan!" She still looked the same with hair in two ponytails, her gray shirt showing cleavage from those two huge knockers, and that green hiori. Only after examining her did Naruto saw the many men lining on either side of the mat with one sitting on the opposite end from the Slug Sannin.

"Yes, you did won fair and square, Tsunade-san," the man on the other side stated. Looking at him, Naruto could see the kanji for 'Boss' embroiled on his shirt's front left breast. It didn't take the blond boy much to figure out that this man must be the mob boss running this casino. "However, it's clear you've been winning way too many times and for far too long. The other Bosses and I had decided that we're not going to give in to you anymore, or else you will put us out of business."

Confused, Naruto turned to Chikao. "What is he talking about? Tsunade-baachan always looses. She's really bad in gambling."

"That is true," the angel answered, "but that was before Konoha's destruction. Her bad luck gave her a curse that when she wins, it was a bad sign something terrible was about to happen. Ever since Konoha was destroyed, she just keeps winning, corresponding to the evil tides plaguing the world."

Blue eyes blinked in confusion even more. "So, she's keep winning. That's good, right?"

Chikao raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the teenage boy. "Did you just hear the Boss of this casino just now, Naruto? He and the other Bosses are tired of Tsunade winning all the time. What good is running a gambling establishment, if one person keeps winning you out of your profits? After nearly three years of allowing Tsunade free-reign, the Bosses are now going to put an **end** to her."

Naruto swallowed. "You mean…"

The elderly agent of Kami sighed sadly. "Yes. You're about to witness the last moments of Tsunade's life, Naruto. It is a miracle she lasted this long given her depression and broken heart."

Confusion etched the blond boy's face once more. "What do you mean? Tsunade-baachan is the strongest kunoichi I ever known."

Chikao shook his head. "The Tsunade you know only came to been because you were the one who snapped her out of her depression. Your unwavering determination to protect her against Kabuto made her realized your strength, and when she in turn protected you against Orochimaru, her own strength of will was revived tremendously. It was due to you that Tsunade had returned to Konoha and became the Fifth Hokage.

"On this world," he gestured briefly to the Slug Sannin without breaking eye contact with Naruto, "Tsunade had not ever met you due you were not born. She continued her addictive drinking and gambling habits. It's why she looses her money due to her constant drinking. This Tsunade, even right now, still mourns the death of her lover, Dan, and her brother, Nawaki. She is just an empty shell of the proud kunoichi she once was."

Naruto, sad and disbelieving, focused on the angry older woman. Her expression sure did not convey any problems, for she still looked like the Baachan he knew. "But… But what about Shizune-neechan? Why is she not here to help her?"

"Because she is dead, Naruto," replied the angel, making Naruto hung his head for a moment in sorrow that another person he cared about was gone. "Shortly after Konoha's fall, Jiraiya had sought Tsunade to ask her to join the Resistance. She refused quite bluntly, making Jiraiya quite disappointed of his former teammate. Shizune, however, thought that they should have accepted to join the Resistance, but her mistress once more proved quite stubborn to listen to reason.

"A few months ago, in a drunken stupor, Tsunade said some hurtful words to Shizune, when the young woman tried once more to get her mistress to listen to reason. Afterward, for the first time in many years, Shizune left Tsunade. She was planning to join the Resistance, but Orochimaru's spies warned their leader regarding the kunoichi. The Snake Sannin sent a team of his elite jounin to deal with Shizune. She did not stand a chance, thus she was killed."

Swallowing, Naruto willed himself not to cry; yet his eyes were moist. "And Tonton? I know Baachan always have her around."

Again, Chikao sadly shook his head. "The little pig was killed within a week after Shizune left. While Tsunade was passed out drunk on the floor of a bar one night, Tonton was targeted by a few bandits, who wanted to pig for food. She managed to flee the bar, given her ability to use chakra. However, she had to keep running when she kept coming across someone who wants to kill her for food. She died when she finally stumbled to exhaustion and was killed by the hands of a starving family in one of the poor areas of Tanzaku."

After letting a tear escaped his eye, Naruto was about to say something but was interrupted by Tsunade, who immediately gained his and the angel's attention. "If you think you can get one over me, you can go ahead and try, punk!" the female sannin yelled at the casino's boss as she raised a chakra glowing fist.

Instead of being frightened, all the men maintained their positions, while the Boss raised a knife and made a quick, small cut across his left index finger. Tsunade suddenly was shaken in fear upon the sight of blood, and when the Boss raised his bloody finger toward her, she crawled backwards, trying to get away.

Naruto was very much in shock. "She still is afraid of blood?" He was told about her fear by Ero-sennin and how she overcame it.

Chikao nodded. "It's called hemophobia, the fear of blood, and yes, on this world, Tsunade still have this fear.

"You likely already know how she overcame her fear of blood, and it was during the moments she was protecting you against Orochimaru. That specific battle changed her, Naruto, and without you there to change her, her hemophobia obviously would still exist. You meant so much to her, that she considered you like a surrogate son."

A nod from the blond boy made the angel know that his charge understood. Naruto had felt Tsunade was like the grandmother/mother he not ever had. It was a spiritual and emotional connection that neither he nor the older woman ever had to explain. Each just knew it and had not ever disputed it.

The men around the table began to approach the terrified female sannin. Some crawled, while others stood up and walked toward her, including the Boss who kept his bloody finger up to keep Tsunade petrified.

"Hold her," ordered the Boss, and immediately several of his men held down the 50-something woman by her arms and legs despite her cries of protest. A couple of men, not holding down Tsunade, quickly gave a small knick on their fingers to keep the woman's homophobia heightened. Now that she was immobilized, the Boss went over and reached down to pull a necklace off her chest. Naruto saw easily what that necklace was.

The Boss smirked. "I don't think you'll need this anymore, Tsunade - the necklace of the First Hokage. With this, I'll be richer than ever."

Despite her fears, Tsunade snarled up at the Boss, who was admiring her grandfather's necklace. "How?" she managed to ask.

Looking down at the bounded woman, the Boss smirked. "How I know of your phobia? Orochimaru told me. A month ago, I and the other Bosses approached him and asked him for information regarding any weaknesses you have. For a large price, he told us of your fear of blood. The price was steep, but it was worth it. You're now helpless as a baby." He shook his head. "Ironic. A legendary medic afraid of blood."

With a wave of his hand, the rest of his men surrounded Tsunade, and only then did the Boss walked toward the exit, where Naruto and Chikao stood by the door's side. "Before you kill her, boys, you can have **fun** with her. Also, you should take a good look at her." He stopped at the door to slide it open prior to turning hiss torso around to look at the older woman. "She is perhaps the last of the Senju Clan. This is the age where many of the great clans of the past 100 years are going extinct. We are likely the ones to see the last Senju alive before she is killed."

His smirk going wider, the Boss waved to his men to continue what they were doing. "Have fun, boys." With that said, he left and slid the door shut behind him.

The many men surrounding Tsunade began to have their fun with the woman. They punched her, ripped her clothes off, and began touching her where she did not want to be touched. In the meantime, her fear of blood prevented her from fighting back as she normally would, and she realized she was indeed helpless against the onslaught.

When some of the men began undoing their pants, Naruto turned away, repulsed at what he was witnessing was about to happen to the once prideful woman. To think Tsuande, the kunoichi who could destroy a large boulder with a single punch, was reduced to this, the blond boy just couldn't have imagined such a scenario happening to her. It was just too bad he couldn't do anything to help her.

Feeling a comforting hand on his shoulder, Naruto turned his head to Chikao's sad face. "Is Orochimaru incredibly powerful? How can he be this powerful that make so many people fear him compare to before?"

Chikao sighed. "Because he gained the power of a person you considered a close friend, Naruto."

At first, Naruto was baffled to what the angel could mean, until his brain came up with the answer and his eyes went wide with recognition.

The angel nodded, seeing his young charge knew. "Come, Naruto. I know you will not like what you're going to see, but you should know what has happened to your friend."

Once more, the angel and the blond shinobi disappeared in a whirl of wind, which was not registered to the room's occupants. The cries of a once-legendary kunoichi echoed through the room, her wails testifying to her last moments when she thought the world has betrayed her… for the last and final time.

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TBC (End of Chapter 6)

A/Ns:

1) To give a better visual clue to the changes to Tanzaku, the gambling street, Naruto and Chikao went, would be like Times Square, Tokyo, or Las Vegas at nighttime. So many flashing lights, sighs, billboards, etc. Since Tanzaku has become the biggest gambling town in the entire Elemental Countries, I can imagine parts of the town would be like Las Vegas and Times Square.

Tanzaku is a major example of what living under Orochimaru's rule is like.

2) I can already hear some people thinking that Shizune would have never left Tsunade as mentioned in this chapter. To be honest, I too thought that. I just find it hard to come up with a bad scenario for the pair in this world. Shizune would have easily defended Tsunade against those who would use her 'fear of blood' against the sannin. Same thing with defending Tonton. In other words, nothing would have changed for the two women in this dark world if Shizune had stayed by Tsunade's side. So I'd decided to break them apart, which would definitely be their undoing.


End file.
